Monday, November 9, 2015

When I was eleven years old, my parents, sister and I visited Yellowstone National Park. I decided it was time to check it out again. Maybe it's changed, right?

The Park offers various tours, but you should sign up ahead of time to be sure of getting a place. I enrolled about this time last year to take the Essential Yellowstone Package. Package is a better name than tour as it included lodging, escorted touring, and most meals. I arrived Monday and left Friday with lots of fantastic stuff in between. Our group stayed in Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins.

We usually left left about 8 a.m. on our minibus with a dedicated guide. He said he wasn't a guide, but a teacher, and had a master's degree in something related (I don't remember exactly what). He was excellent, by the way. Well, 8 a.m. was correct most days, but one we left at 6 a.m. to see gray wolves in the Hayden Valley.

Above: Notice how the steam that comes from deep in the earth condenses, hardens, and forms walls for Castle Geyser.

Above: Yellowstone is said to be the world's largest concentration of geysers. Old Faithful is not the biggest, but it is the best known geyser in the Park.

Above: There are many geothermal activities besides geysers. This one is named Crested Pool.

What a blast. I'm kinda jealous. Lois Anne visited Yellowstone with her parents when she was a child, but I've never been there. Not sure why. It looks like a wonderful place, so long as you aren't bison challenged!

A little of both. Poker is hard to play where I live -- nearly a two hour trip to Tampa/St. Petersburg. I played one week ago Friday night. It started at 7 p.m. and (we chopped four way for 2465) lasted until 2:30. By the time I was paid and drove home, it was 5 a.m. ouch -- I'm too old for that stuff.